So what exactly is a "Traditional barber shop scent"

[Gdawgs]

It seems like there are many products labeled as traditional barber shop scent. I believe I've seen all of the following scents labeled as such at one time or another(and I know there are many more). Clubman, Fine American Blend, Stirling Barbershop, Tabac, and I also have a fragrance oil from Brambleberry called "Shave and a Haircut" that I use for soap making. The thing is, these all smell COMPLETELY different from each other.
To me, Tabac reminds me the most of the Barbershops I went into as a kid. Then I'd say Stirling and Shave and A Haircut would be next in line. But I don't think Fine AB is a Barbershop scent at all.

So what do you think qualifies something as Barbershop?

 

[Graybeard57]

Every soap maker has their own unique blend, which can vary greatly. I think of it as a genre, with many iterations. I like them all.

 

[BigJ]

In my home town in upstate NY the barbers used Pinaud clubman! To me that is what a barbershop should smell like!

 

[TheVez2]

What about Bay Rum?

Barbershop isn't a scent, it's an idea. One that is interpreted into a scent by the maker. A barbershop scent is one that evokes a memory of walking into the barbershops of our youth. But no two barbershops were the same, so that idea can vary greatly. For some the scent would be a medicinal, clean, and Barbacide kind of smell. For others it might be a pipe tobacco and cedarwood smell. Others would associate it with the aftershave that the barber used on everyone, which was very commonly a Bay Rum or Clubman type scent. Some makers would take bits of all these notes and blend them together to make their version of Barbershop.

There are some barbershop scents that I like, but most I do not. They do not speak to me, and give me a memory of the barbershop. For me, it needs to smell like Jeris Hair Tonic. That's the ultimate barbershop scent to me.

 

[August West]

Ultimately it is subjective.

Generally I see it as an interpretation of male grooming products that evoke a traditional barbershop experience.

 

[tromboneliness]

The thing is, these all smell COMPLETELY different from each other.

That's the requirement: any new "barbershop" scent must be completely different from all others.

In my home town in upstate NY the barbers used Pinaud clubman! To me that is what a barbershop should smell like!

Where I grew up, they always did your sideburns and neck with a straight, after which they dusted your neck with Clubman talc. I never saw anybody get the aftershave, so the talc must be what we smelled.

To me, it's still a reliable way to tell if you've found a good barbershop: if it smells like Clubman, you're probably in good shape.

Of all the newer "barbershop" scents around, I probably like the Stirling Barbershop the best. I use both the soap and the AS.

 

[Gdawgs]

What about Bay Rum?

Barbershop isn't a scent, it's an idea. One that is interpreted into a scent by the maker. A barbershop scent is one that evokes a memory of walking into the barbershops of our youth.

This is the cool thing about smells. It's funny how you can sometimes smell something and it instantly triggers something in your brain and brings back memories from way back when that you didn't even know were still in your brain. I smelled an aftershave the other day and it brought back memories of a souvenir shop that I was in with my cousin, probably 30 years ago. It smelled similar to that souvenir shop I guess.

 

[Gilletticus]

A barbershop scent is one that evokes a memory of walking into the barbershops of our youth.

This is it in a nutshell!

 

[YKMV]

 

[RoFoBlade]

In my home town in upstate NY the barbers used Pinaud clubman! To me that is what a barbershop should smell like!

+1
My barber always uses Pinaud Clubman talc on the back of my neck at the end of my haircut. Big old green plastic bottle of it on the shelf. Been going to him for the Past 30 years. My previous barber used it as well. Pretty sure it harkens back to my childhood in the 1950's when it seemed all barbers used it.

I do like RazoRocks's American Barber AS, but it doesn't smell like my barbershop. Very subjective indeed. One could say Italian barber shops probably smell like Proraso green, but Proraso green AS splash doesn't smell like the soap or cream.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

Ultimately it is subjective.

Generally I see it as an interpretation of male grooming products that evoke a traditional barbershop experience.

This sums up my thoughts exactly

 

[mars]

To me, barbershop = powdery fragrance.

 

[ColonelHogan]

When I want to feel like I've been to a barbershop I either use Williams Mug Soap or, even better in terms of scent, I'll shave using Gillette Foamy Barbershop Fresh foam. It has that nice amber smell just like the warm Campbell liquid lather from a lather machine. Cheap sweet bayrum like Gabels or Stephans, some Pinaud talc on my neck & chest, and a little Vitalis or Jeris worked into my scalp with my fingers. Barbershop!

 

[Djwyman]

Pnauid clubman all the way is the barbershop scent to me. In fact I have the aftershave and when I put it on I have to look again in the mirror to remind my self I didn't just leave a barbershop. Sadly where I live there aren't many old school barbershops around it is places like Walmart or sport clips and places like that. Sport clips is nice but I miss going to a real barber

 

[tromboneliness]

Sport clips is nice but I miss going to a real barber

They're worth seeking out. Mine is 20 minutes away.

 

[McHale]

As I explained in my post today, I just found out yesterday it is Pinaud Clubman. It's driven me nuts for years trying to figure it out and I finally got a chance to ask the barber himself who retired more than 10 years ago.

Great stuff too!

 

[tromboneliness]

As I explained in my post today, I just found out yesterday it is Pinaud Clubman. It's driven me nuts for years trying to figure it out and I finally got a chance to ask the barber himself who retired more than 10 years ago.

Great stuff too!

Not only that, but you found out on Clubman Friday.

 

[mglindo]

Whatever reminds you of the Barber Shops of your youth. I can see you, Gdawgs, having Tabac, be what reminds you of the Barber Shops of old. Back when, smoking was more common and acceptable, and people smoked while waiting for a haircut and maybe a shave.

 

[misterbryant]

Great question, especially since, as you noted, many "barbershop" scents are so different. I agree with some others that, for me, Clubman Pinaud is the scent that reminds me of walking into a barbershop when I was a kid. Now as an adult, my barber always finishes my haircut by putting a little Clubman Pinaud AS on the back of my neck and under my sideburns.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Phoenix Cad.